Harry Potter and Lady Titania's Gift
by ananova
Summary: HPGargoyles xover. Titania stops Demona's plan to destroy humanity by making her live life as a human, Lily Evans. How will Harry react to learning his true heritage? On Permanent Hiatus
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Gargoyles belong to their respective owners, which are not me. I am not making any profit off this story.

Author's note: This story comes from an idea created from reading Son Ranma's "Son of the Demon" (a Ranma/Gargoyles fic) as well as a discussion of what if Demona had raised Harry on the Caer Azkaban yahoo group. The idea was what if Demona was actually Harry's mother Lily Evans Potter. This chapter will cover how that happened but for the most part how Demona came to fall in love with James and grow to not hate humanity will mostly take place in flashbacks. This is my first fanfic so please give me feedback.

Prologue

Manhattan (1996)

The wind howled between the buildings and thunder sounded in the distance as the people of Manhattan rushed through the streets trying to get out of the storm. Lightning flashed illuminating a figure watching atop a tall skyscraper.

"Pitiful humans," she sneered as she watched them scurry like mice trapped in a maze. She fingered the laser rifle she held in her clawed hands, her unfurled wings keeping the worst of the rain off of her. "Tonight I will finally be rid of you worthless vermin, and my kind will have our rightful place in this world. My daughter will finally be safe from this human menace that threatens our existence with your wars and your petty hatred and need for violence."

She frowned and growled out, "I especially can't wait until the vermin known as Elisa Maza is destroyed. She has taken the most from me. She took Goliath from me, turned my clan against me, and is now trying to take my daughter. Tonight I shall destroy her and her worthless race." She turned and reached a blue, clawed hand towards a carefully wrapped bundle when a voice froze her in her tracks.

"I am afraid I cannot allow that Demona." A beautiful woman with light green skin and long hair appeared and walked casually towards the gargoyle known as Demona.

"Who are you to **allow** me to do anything?" Demona growled while pointing the laser rifle towards the new arrival.

"I am Titania," the newcomer stated, causing Demona to pale as she remembered the incident with the mirror and Puck which caused her to **painfully** become human each day rather than undergo the stone sleep the rest of her kind faces at sunrise. "And no I am not here about that little incident with my mirror. As for your other question, I have been watching you for a while and I cannot allow you to go through with your plan. The chances are too great that you would cause harm to befall my grandson. If you don't let go of this hatred for humans, especially Elisa Maza, then you weaken Clan Manhattan, which endangers my grandson. That I can not allow."

"What do you plan to do about it?" Demona asked. "I will not allow humans to live while breath is in my body."

Titania smiled lightly. "Yes my dear I had figured that," she started. "I can simply break your bond with MacBeth thereby allowing you to finally die. But that would have dire consequences as well. Your daughter, Angela, would be upset and probably not protect as well. No I have a better way for you to let go of this hate for humans. And it only requires this special artifact." She pulled the Phoenix Gate from behind her back and her smile got a little bigger. "You will experience life as a normal human. And you will not remember any of this. I will eventually return you to this time but not until I feel it is time."

"Never!" growled Demona as her eyes flashed red and she began to pull the trigger, "I will never live as a human."

With a wave a hand Titania froze the charging gargoyle in her tracks. "Now then lets get started shall we." With another hand wave, Demona painfully reverted to her human form. "Also, as you are going to live as a human, I feel it necessary to give you the full human background." And with that Demona began to shrink and de-age until she reached the age of 9. "That should do it. Now your gargoyle form is still there just locked away where you can't access it. As your magic is a part of you, you will still have access to it, you just won't remember how to use it. Yet." With another gesture and a few muttered words, the now human child version of Demona was stripped of her memories and sent to the past in a flash of fire and light. The rooftop was now empty and silent.

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(flash)

London (1969)

A little girl with red hair and bright green eyes sat alone in a corner in the orphanage. The police had brought her here after she had been found wandering downtown London with no memory of who she was. They had been unable to find any information on her in the month that she had been here. The adults in charge had taken to calling her Lily since she did not know her own name. She sneered as the other children tried to get her to play with them. She knew that she was better than them somehow and would not get involved with them. She ignored them as best as she could, which led to them teasing her and calling her a snob.

She looked up as Mrs. Westfield, one of the people who ran the orphanage came in with a prospective couple. "Children, this is Mr. and Mrs. Evans. They are here to get to know you and maybe provide one of you with a home."

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(flash)

Little Whinging(July of 1971)

Mr. and Mrs. Evans were suprised to learn that their adopted daughter was a witch but it explained so many of the odd things that had happened around them since they adopted her. They were very happy to finally have an explanation for the weird occurrences and thought that maybe this also might explain her memory loss and where she had come from. However, the letter only confirmed to Petunia, their other daughter, that Lily was a freak.

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(flash)

Hogwarts (September 1971)

"EVANS, LILY"

'Hmm, what do we have here. Intelligence, yes, and cunning. What's this, a block, seems to be fae in origin. Who are you to warrant the attention of Oberon's children, I wonder.'

"What are you talking about?" demanded Lily.

'You'll find out in time.' The hat laughed. 'Now let's see, loyalty to your kind, a thirst to prove yourself and your kind, and what's this, a fierce need to protect those close to you. You would do well in Slytherin but I feel you would best be served in

"GRYFFINDOR!"

And with that Lily went off to her new house, puzzling over the hat's words which were soon forgotten in the night's festivities and excitement.

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Hogwarts (First year flying lessons)

Lily Evans found flying a broom to be odd but the feeling of soaring through the air just felt so right. She was a natural on the broom but she felt like something was missing, like there was something wrong with the method of flight.

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Hogwarts (Anytime before 6th year)

"No. I will never go out with you James Potter!" The angry red head sneered before leaving the black haired wizard behind.

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Hogwarts (Sometime in 7th year)

"I love you Lily Evans"

"I love you too James"

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(flash)

St. Mungos (July 31, 1980)

"You are a dead man, James Potter!" screamed Lily Potter as she lay in the maternity ward and pushed. She was in labor with their first child. "You are never touching me again!" She was screaming profanities and curses at her husband, who would later swear that her eyes had flashed red as she gave birth to their son, Harry James Potter, who looked just like his father but with his mother's green eyes.

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Godric's Hollow (October 31, 1981)

"It's him! Take Harry and run. I'll hold him off." Lily kissed the man she had grown to love, and ran to her son's nursery somehow knowing she would never see her husband again.

She grabbed her son from his crib and muttered a few words over him, not even sure what she was saying, only that it was something she vaguely remembered from a dream.

Then HE was there. She shielded her son with her own body as she pleaded for his life.

"Please not Harry. Not Harry. Take me instead, please."

"Stand aside, you foolish girl, stand aside now."

"Please have mercy, not Harry, take me instead."

"Foolish girl, AVADA KEDAVRA!"

As the green light neared her she could only pray for her son's life and safety, then suddenly she was elsewhere, her eyes snapped open wide and she remembered.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Gargoyles belong to their respective owners, which is not me. I am not makingany money off of this.

Author's note: I know thatin the gargoyles series that the Hunter's Moon arc ended in October 1996, I'm going to change that to June 1996. Demona met with Titania in late July or early August. This takes place after OotP and will mostly ignore HBP. Manipulative Dumbledore.

Chapter 1

Little Whinging, Surrey (July 1996)

Harry Potter was not having a good summer. He had led his friends to the ministry where a trap had been set for him by Voldemort and his death eaters, then his godfather Sirius Black had fallen through the Veil and died when he came to rescue them. After that he had given into his anger and tried to curse Bellatrix Lestrange and had ended up being possessed by Voldemort. When he managed to break free, Headmaster Dumbledore had sent him to his office and told him that a prophecy made before his birth stated that he had to kill or be killed by Voldemort. And to top it all off he had been sent back to his loving relatives care, the hellhole known as Number 4 Privet Drive.

Members of the Order of the Phoenix had confronted his Uncle when he came to pick him up from the train station, and warned him to treat Harry better. All they had done was make Vernon Dursley even angrier. Harry had been given even more chores than normal, and Vernon was constantly yelling at him. No one was responding to any of Harry's letters, but Harry knew that he was being watched as he could hear the noise they made as they changed guards. 'Guards' Harry thought with disgust, 'more like prison guards. This isn't my home, it's my prison.' No Harry Potter was not having a good summer at all.

Harry sighed, and looked up from where he had been mowing the lawn. He was finally done with his chores for the day. He put the lawn mower away and placed the bags of grass clippings in the rubbish bin. He was glad to get in and away from the heat of the sun. He headed inside, careful to wipe his feet so as to not mess up his aunt's clean floors that he had scrubbed earlier today. He was immediately met with his Aunt Petunia's dirty look and his Uncle Vernon's bellowing.

"BOY! Don't you dare track dirt onto your Aunt's clean floors! And what took you so long! What, is your freakish kind too good for your Aunt's cooking! In that case I don't think you deserve the food your Aunt took time to make for you, you ungrateful little brat!" And with that Vernon took the dish containing a couple of pieces of dry bread, some cheese, and a few other meager bits of food and dumped it in the garbage. "Maybe that'll teach you to finish your chores on time and come in when dinner is ready. If you think we're going to hold our meals and wait for you, you've got another thing coming!"

Harry who hadn't eaten anything all day began to see red. He became even angrier when he saw his whale of a cousin, Dudley, walk into the room stuffing his face with a large pastry and tracking mud all over the clean floors. His hunger, combined with his exhaustion from all the hard work and heat from the sun, combined with his anger from the events of the previous month led him to respond when he normally wouldn't.

"I was doing that list of chores you ordered me to do. I haven't eaten all day, why don't you try getting your whale of a son to do some work for a change instead of making a mess and having me get blamed for it and have to clean it up."

Harry immediately knew he had made a mistake and gone too far. He knew his relatives tempers had been getting worse as the summer progressed and that he shouldn't push it. He watched as Vernon turned purple with rage and raised a fist to strike him but never got the chance. All of a sudden Harry was on the ground clutching his head in pain.

"How DARE YOU! You little FREAK!" Aunt Petunia stood over him waving the frying pan she had used to strike him. "How dare you insult my Dudley. You ungrateful little brat, we should have drowned you when we found you. You're just like your mother, a worthless no good freak who thinks the world should bow down to them. I wish my parents had left that little bitch in the orphanage where they found her." She snarled at him.

"Mum was adopted!" Harry blurted out in shock. 'But what about the blood protections, if Mum and Aunt Petunia weren't related then why did Dumbledore send me here. He said he had personally ensured that the wards were up and would protect me. He has to know, which means he lied, but why?'

"Oh yes, that freak was no relation of mine. Mother and Father were so excited when they came home with the little freak. I knew right away that there was something wrong with her, something demonic but they wouldn't listen. And then that letter arrived and my suspicions were confirmed but they ignored me and praised her for it. That freakish bitch put a spell on them, I know it. And then she went to that school and met your worthless father. And then they had you and got themselves killed. That other freak, the old one, came and left you here. I wanted to get rid of you then, I even told him you were of no relation to me but he threatened my Dudley. So I had to keep you but we tried to stamp the freakishness out of you to no avail. You're nothing but a worthless, know-nothing, lazy freak who thinks you can order us around with your freakish powers, just like your parents." She shrieked in his face.

"SHUT UP! Don't you talk about my parents" Harry yelled back, feeling betrayed as the implications of what Petunia had said about Dumbledore sunk in. If he had lied about the blood wards what else had he lied about.

"Or what, you'll wave that wand at me and get yourself expelled," she sneered at him while swinging the frying pan in his direction again. "Or maybe you'll get your escaped convict of a godfather to come here, no wait he's dead isn't he, just like your worthless parents." She laughed in his face.

The blood was rushing through Harry's ears as the light from the setting sun through the kitchen windows cast shadows across the room and his face. He began to scream as all the rage, pain, and betrayal built up inside him. His eyes took on a green glow and he felt his magic rising within him as he screamed. Random objects were blowing around in the room while others exploded. Finally something inside him seemed to snap and his scream of emotion quickly became one of pain. He was in agony, the pain he was feeling was worse than the cruciatus. "What's... happening... to me?" he managed to gasp out. His relatives were huddled in a corner now, no longer feeling triumphant but terrified instead.

A new wave of agony swept over his body and Harry fell back to the floor. He felt his body shifting, as if something was changing inside and outside. He could distantly hear his aunt, no Petunia, shrieking about knowing they were demons.

Although Harry did not know what was happening to him there was an explanation. When Titania had sent Demona back into the past to live life over as Lily Evans she had sealed her gargoyle nature away. However, Demona had been born a gargoyle and so her gargoyle nature was a part of her and could only be sealed, not completely taken away. Lady Titania had made a slight miscalculation in her plans to change Demona's view of humans. She had wanted to teach Demona what it is to be human but had not considered what would happen if Demona/Lily had a child. Harry Potter was born a human wizard to human parents but his mother was also a gargoyle, a magical being in its own right. Therefore, Harry was unique, the first and only hybrid child of a human and gargoyle. However, as Titania's magic suppressed and kept hidden Demona/Lily's true status so it passed on to Harry and suppressed him as well. Until his rage and magic combined to break that binding. However even that would not have been enough alone. But the timing of the outburst, sunset, when most gargoyles awake from their stone sleep, and Demona resumes her true form, combined with the breaking of the bonds unknowingly placed upon him was enough to release Harry's other form. His gargoyle form.

The pain finally subsided, and Harry pushed himself up from the floor, already feeling a difference in the way his body was reacting. He opened his eyes and began to search for his glasses which had fallen off sometime during his painfilled fit. He was immediately surprised to learn that he could see perfectly without them. Looking down at his hands, he froze in shock. His skin was now a pale blue color and his hands were now clawed with four fingers that were more like talons. Feeling a weight on his back he was further surprised to see wings and a tail.

Harry's inspection of his new body was abruptly cut short by the appearance of his guard for the night, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had finally decided to investigate the shouts and screams coming from the house. He apparated into the kitchen with wand drawn. Upon spotting Harry he immediately began firing curses at him. Harry dodged clumsily, unused to his new body. He ended up tripping and landing near Shacklebolt's feet. Acting on instinct, he turned and lashed out with his tail, smacking Shacklebolt in the head and knocking him unconscious. Deciding it wouldn't be wise to stay in the house, Harry turned to go upstairs and gather his things. But first he stopped and growled at his relatives, eyes flashing green and causing Petunia and Dudley to faint in fright, right on top of Vernon. Snorting with amused disgust, Harry hurriedly moved to Dudley's second bedroom.

Upon reaching the room he grabbed his trunk, which seemed surprisingly lighter than usual and began tossing all of his belongings into it. A surprised hoot, made him pause, and he looked up to see Hedwig, his faithful owl, had returned from hunting.

He went over to her cage and spoke to her. "It's me girl. I'm not sure what happened but I can't stay here and I can't trust Dumbledore right now. I need you to go to Hermione, girl, and stay with her. I'll be in touch when I can but right now I don't think it's safe for me to stick around." Hedwig hooted in understanding and affectionately nipped Harry's fingers/talons? and took off through the window. Harry finished packing his trunk and grabbed his wand. Figuring he couldn't get into too much more trouble than he already was, he muttered "Reducio" and shrunk the trunk. Seeing that the clothes he was wearing were now little more than rags he grabbed a piece of rope and tied the shrunken trunk to it, then place it around his neck. Taking one last look around the room, Harry turned and rushed out of the house, for the last time.

He had just made it outside of the house when several loud cracks were heard. Several members of the Order of the Phoenix had arrived, alerted by Dumbledore that a powerful magical outburst had disturbed the wards. Upon spotting Harry, one witch screamed in fright while another wizard shouted "It's a gargoyle! Kill the beast!" At that they all began to shoot spells and curses at Harry.

Harry did the only thing he could. He turned tail and ran, dodging curses and wondering what mess he had gotten himself into this time.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Gargoyles belong to the respective owners, which is not me. I amnot making anymoney off of this story.

Authors note: There was some question over when this takes place in the Gargoyles universe. I repeat my previous author'snote that I am altering the timeline slightly. Instead of the Hunters Moon arc finishing in October, it happened in June. That means that at the time of this story Hunters Moon has already happened. Demona had found a different way of trying to get rid of humanity when Titania interfered.

Chapter 2

Harry continued to run. At the moment he was traveling on all fours. When he had tripped after narrowly dodging a curse, he had found that he moved a lot faster in his new body when traveling on all fours. He continued to run even though he thought he had lost his pursuers several blocks ago. He figured that they must have stopped in order to investigate Number 4 Privet Drive, but he wasn't taking any chances at the moment. He glanced behind him, it was still clear. He was coming up on the woods that were located near the park. Harry figured it would be as good a place as any to hide and try to figure out his next plan of action.

Once Harry decided that he was deep enough into the woods, he began looking for a place to hide. He spotted a tall, sturdy tree and began to climb it. Harry soon discovered that his new talons allowed him to easily climb the tree. He stopped when he was about two-thirds of the way up and sat down on a spot where two branches crossed. After a little experimentation in trying to get comfortable, Harry found that he could fold his closed over his body, like a cloak. He figured that from here he could spot anyone coming without them spotting him. So he settled in to wait and try to sort through the events of the evening.

'Okay' he thought to himself. 'I need to figure out what I know so far. 1. Mum and Petunia were never related, that's a relief, boy am I glad that I never have to acknowledge them as family again. 2. Dumbledore apparently knew this and sent me there anyway. 3. Dumbledore lied about the blood wards, wonder what else he lied about. 4. I went through some type of magical transformation and now have a new body. 5. That wizard called me a gargoyle, thought they were the stone statues on top of churches and other buildings, which was apparently enough cause for them to try to kill me. I've got to find out what gargoyles are and why wizards and witches would try to kill one on sight, better yet I need to find out what happened to me.'

However, deciding that it was best to stay where he was for a while yet so that he wouldn't run into any wizards, Harry decided to make a list of things that Dumbledore said or did that were suspicious. After a few hours this is what he had come up with:

-Why was I sent to the Dursleys? Did Mum and Dad have a will?

-Dumbledore knew how I was treated at the Dursleys, my letter was sent to the cupboard under the stairs.

-Dumbledore lied about the blood wards.

-Three first years were able to get past all of the traps that were supposed to stop the Dark Lord.

-Dumbledore didn't know about the basilisk even after all those years? Why didn't he just ask Mertle?

-Why wasn't Sirius given a trial?

-Mad Eye Moody was supposedly one of Dumbledore's closest friends, why couldn't he tell he was an imposter?

-Let Umbridge have free reign over Hogwarts with that damn quill.

-Didn't tell me why I had to learn Occlumency, just ordered me to do it with Snape.

-Snape never taught me anything, just raped my mind.

-Didn't warn me that Voldemort would try to trick me into going to the Department of Mysteries.

-How did he know when and where to send Hagrid after Voldemort killed my parents and tried to kill me?

Thinking over this list, the only conclusion that Harry could come to was that Dumbledore had been manipulating him and the wizarding world for years. 'He's trying to turn me into a weapon.' Who knew what other lies and manipulations he had done? Harry resolved to not trust or follow Dumbledore blindly. He would have to make plans to get out from under Dumbledore's thumb. That would mean going to Gringott's. 'But I can't just waltz in there looking like this.' He thought. 'I need Hermione. Last I heard before I stopped receiving mail was that she would be staying at the Burrow in order to fully recuperate from her injuries. I need to apologize to them for that and how I acted afterwards. But how am I going to get there. I still haven't gotten my firebolt back yet.' Musing this over Harry began to yawn before dozing off.

He awakened just before dawn. Waking up he looked around, then up at the lightening sky. "Oh man, I can't believe I spent the whole night in a tree and that I actually fell asleep up here! Good thing I picked a spot where the branches intersect or it's likely I would have fallen out the tree."

Just then the sun began to rise, and the first rays of sunlight could be seen filtering through the trees. All of a sudden Harry felt intense agony as his body began to shift again. "...not... a ..again.." he gasped out as he tried to keep himself from screaming. Who knew who was around at the moment that would discover him if he screamed. Thankfully the way the branches were situated kept him from falling. Finally the pain stopped and Harry caught his breath before looking at his body.

"I'm me again" he sighed in relief. At least he hadn't turned into another creature. The only difference is that his vision seemed to have stayed improved. "Well at least I won't have to worry about finding my glasses. Now how am I going to get out of this tree?"

After a slow and careful climb down, with a few near slips ('it was much easier getting up there in that other body than it is getting down in mine' he thought), he was finally out of the tree. Deciding that the clothes he was wearing were well and truly a lost cause, he took his trunk and prepared to enlarge it. He hesitated, then figured that if the ministry hadn't found him last night he might as well try again. Harry enlarged the trunk, quickly changed clothes and pulled out a black cloak and the bag containing the last of his money from the previous year (a couple of galleons, 25 sickles, and a few knuts). He also removed his invisibility cloak, which he stuffed under his shirt. He then reshrunk the trunk and began heading out of the woods. Harry was careful to stay away from Privet Drive and Arabella Figg's house, he didn't want to be caught just yet.

When he was finally clear of the woods he looked around before donning the cloak and holding out his wand. BANG! A purple triple-decker bus appeared and a man in a purple uniform jumped out.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor --"

"I'd like to go to Ottery St. Catchpole, please." Harry interrupted, trying to deepen his voice a bit.

"'Right, 'at'll be 15 sickles, but for --" Stan began to list options of what he could get if he paid more but Harry interrupted again, handing over the 15 sickles and saying "Just the ride, thanks." He then walked over to one of the beds and sat down.

As the bus travelled along it's route, Harry managed to avoid looking out the window. Soon enough Stan called out Ottery St. Catchpole, and Harry quickly departed the bus. Taking a quick look around, Harry took out his invisibility cloak and put it on. 'No sense taking any chances, and I really don't want to run into any of the order members that might be around.'

He quickly began walking in the direction of the Burrow, or more accurately the field that the Weasley children used as a Quidditch pitch behind the Burrow. Harry decided it would be safer to wait for Ron or Ginny to show up there than to go directly to the Burrow. 'If Mr. or Mrs. Weasley were to spot me, they would immediately tell Dumbledore, and I would just be locked up again.' As he neared the field he slowed as he heard the sounds of an arguement. 'Who is that, it's too early for Ron to be up already, especially in the summer?' he thought remembering how hard it was to get his best friend up in the mornings. He crept up to the field and listened.

"But we can't just sit around here and do nothing, 'Mione, you heard my parents this morning, Harry's missing and a dark creature was spotted near his relatives' place!" Ron shouted.

"I know Ron, and I'm worried about him too. But you saw Hedwig, do you really think she'd have come here and be so calm if Harry was in danger?"

"No, I suppose not. It's just, we have no idea where Harry is or where he could have gone. And everytime one of us tries to contact him, Dumbledore puts a stop to it somehow."

"You'll get no arguements from me there Ron. I have no idea what Dumbledore is thinking, sending Harry back to those muggles and then cutting off communication with all of his friends. He just lost his godfather, the closest thing to a parent he's ever had and Dumbledore locks him away." Ginny exploded out.

"There's something else, you guys. When we got back from the ministry, I think Dumbledore told Harry something, something that really upset him. I mean, I know he just lost his godfather, but there was something else too, I just don't know what." Neville ('What's he doing here' Harry wondered) pointed out.

"It's almost like Dumbledore is trying to mold Harry in some way. I think that's why he sent him to the Dursleys and cut off communication. Look at it this way, Dumbledore sends Harry to the Dursleys where he is treated like garbage and belittled, then when Dumbledore says Harry can leave how do you think Harry will view Dumbledore at the end of the summer? As the one who 'rescued' him from the Dursleys. I just wish I knew where Harry was and what Dumbledore said to him" huffed Hermione.

"I think it's the nargles affecting Dumbledore's brain. They infest a person's beard and hair, then work their way into the person's head where they start sending out orders and telling people to do things. What do you think Harry?" Luna asked as she turned to face where Harry was standing.

The others turned around in shock, and Harry let the invisibility cloak fall off. "Harry!" was his friends' shouted exclamations, followed by "How did you get here, are you all right, what happened, Dumbledore said, the order is out looking for you, where are your glasses" and a bunch of other jumbled questions and comments.

"Whoa, whoa" Harry cut in, "I'm fine. I took the Knight Bus here. I could care less what Dumbledore thinks. But what's going on, why are Neville and Luna here? And what were you guys talking about before, about not being able to contact me?"

"It's all bloody Dumbledore's fault. He told us we couldn't contact you this summer, and when we tried to send owls anyway, the order intercepted them and we were punished. He said some bullshit about you wanting to be left alone to grieve. Neville and Luna are here for their 'safety'. Dumbledore said it was to prevent retaliation against them for their actions in the ministry, but we think it's just to keep an eye on all of us and keep us from getting in contact with you." Ron explained.

"It figures that Dumbledore would be behind it." Harry quickly explained what he had learned about his mother and the blood wards yesterday and the conclusions he had come to. He also shared his list of Dumbledore's manipulations and lies, but left out what had happened to him and why he had left Privet Drive. He then said, "And that's not all. When he sent me back to Hogwarts that night he locked me in his office until he got there. Then he turns around and tells me that a prophecy was made before I was born that says that I am the only one who can defeat Voldemort. It was the prophecy from the ministry. I think you guys deserve to know what it was you risked your lives for, what Sirius died for. It goes like this "THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES...BORN TO PARENTS WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES...AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE THE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT...AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES...THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES..."

The group contemplated those words for a few moments before Neville suddenly went very pale. Harry, who had been glancing between his friends to see their reactions, realized why and immediately told him "Don't worry, it's not you." The rest of his friends looked up, puzzled and he explained. "Dumbledore told me that there were two candidates for the prophecy, Neville and me. But the prophecy is about me. AND THE DARK LORD SHALL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL. My scar, Voldemort marked me when he chose to attack me and my parents rather than Neville's."

After a few moments, Ron spoke up, "So you have to face and defeat Voldemort, is that all?" When the group turned to look at him like he was crazy he clarified "Oh come on, Harry's been facing him on and off since he started at Hogwarts. Like there was ever any doubt that Harry would be the one to finally finish him off. And who says he has to do it alone, we've been with you this far mate, not gonna quit on you now. And besides Voldemort has his death eaters, you have us, and we're more loyal than they are and fighting for a better cause, of course we'll win." He stated forcefully and with emotion.

Feeling touched at his friend's assertion, all Harry could say was "Thanks, mate."

"Ron, that was oddly touching and well thought out. Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Ginny asked teasingly. The group shared a laugh over Ron's grumbled "Hey!" The friendly atmosphere was then broken by a loud rumbling. They turned and stared at a sheepish looking Harry, who was holding his growling stomach.

"Harry, when did you last eat anything? The Dursleys can't have been feeding you too well, you must be starving." Fussed Ginny, resembling her mother greatly at that moment. "It's almost lunchtime, you wait here and we'll sneak you as much food as possible. Maybe we can convince Mum to let us eat out here like a picnic."

"Yeah, mate. We'll bring you back a ton of food. Would try to sneak you into the house but we get watched like a hawk by Mum. They even set wards all over to let the order know if we try to leave the property. Not sure why they didn't go off when you showed up though."

Harry though had a sinking feeling that he knew why the wards hadn't reacted to him. Hermione must have seen something in his face because she said "I saw that look Harry Potter. You know or suspect something about why the wards aren't reacting to you. And don't think I've forgotten that you haven't explained what happened last night. I'll be expecting a full explanation when we return." Harry winced, when Hermione wanted to know something she didn't let go until she had every last detail.

With a last "Don't let the gogglybugs bite" from Luna, the group, except for Harry, trudged back to the Burrow for food. Harry was alternately hoping they returned quickly and slowly. Quickly because he was starving, not having eaten anything in almost two days, and he wanted to pick Hermione's brain about what happened to him last night, and slowly because he was afraid of what their reactions might be based on the ones he received last night.

The others soon returned, Neville and Ron staggering under the weight of a large picnic basket. "We managed to convince Mum that we just wanted to eat outside and enjoy the sun, don't think she suspects anything but she packed enough food for an army. Eat up everyone." Ron said as they set the basket down and he immediately set to work on a large sandwich for himself, causing the group to roll their eyes at him. Thankfully Hermione seemed content to wait until after they ate for her answers, if not a bit impatiently. Though that might have something to do with the glares Ginny sent in her directionas she passed a large sandwich to Harry and encouraged him to eat whenHermione began to open her mouth to speak.

After everyone had eaten their fill (and then some, Mrs. Weasley's cooking was excellent as always) Hermione started right in on the interrogation...err I mean questions. "All right Harry Potter, start explaining what's going. What happened last night?" Everyone focused on Harry, including Luna who seemed more focused at that point than usual.

With a sigh Harry began, "All right, but I don't understand exactly what happened myself. And before I start I want all of you to promise that you won't freak out on me. And please don't interrupt, this is confusing enough as it is without losing my train of thought." After getting their promises Harry began.

"As I said, I'm not too sure on everything that happened last night but I figure it all started when I entered the house after finishing my chores. But first I think I should explain what the summer's been like so far so that you have an understanding of my state of mind at the time. The Order's warning didn't have much effect on Vernon except to make him even angrier, and then they didn't back up their threats. So I was given more and more chores while Vernon continued to rain down verbal abuse and threats on me. Also, I was getting very minimal portions of food, the last time I ate before today was dinner two days ago and that consisted of a couple of thin slices of cheese on a dry piece of toast with a glass of water. I've also been upset over the loss of Sirius" his voice hitched a bit at the name, but he continued on. "Yesterday I had just completed the long list of chores which included scrubbing all the floors in the house, painting the fence, weeding the yard, mowing the lawn, etc. The last chore that I completed was mowing the lawn. I had spent most of the day outside with the sun and heat beating down on me. I was tired and hungry but when I went inside Vernon immediately started in on me."

Harry quickly described Vernon's words and actions to him, Dudley's appearance, and his own outburst. "I know it wasn't very smart, that I should have kept my mouth shut, but I was tired, hungry and upset, and just couldn't hold it in anymore. That's when Petunia hit me in the head with the frying pan. I had expected Vernon to react violently as soon as I spoke the words, I hadn't been expecting it from Petunia" Harry refused to meet his friends eyes, but several gasps and muttered words of rage made him glance up. The girls had tears in their eyes but all of his friends looked upset. Ron was muttering dark threats against the Dursleys and Hermione seemed to be contemplating ways to hurt the Dursleys, and even Neville and Luna had fierce looks of anger on their faces. Ginny's reaction surprised him though. She had such a look of anger on her face, like a thundercloud, but when she looked at him she just smiled sadly. Harry was touched by his friends' anger on his behalf, and gained the courage to continue his tale.

"That was when she made those revelations about my mum and Dumbledore. I felt so betrayed when I learned of his lies and then she was insulting my parents, especially Mum, and then she brought up Sirius. I felt all the rage, betrayal, and pain, all of it just well up inside me. I could feel my magic inside me, seeming to grow and try to escape. I started to scream out my emotions, and then I felt something inside me just snap. That's the only way I can think of to describe it. All of a sudden I was in so much pain, it was worse than the Cruciatus. It felt like my body was tearing itself apart.

"When the pain finally stopped, I pushed myself up from where I had fallen on the floor and opened my eyes. I was immediately surprised to note that my vision seemed clearer than it ever had, and this was without my glasses. I was further shocked to learn that my skin had turned a pale blue and I had sprouted wings and a tail. About this time Shacklebolt finally decided to investigate all of the screaming, and showed up. He immediately began firing curses and spells at me that I dodged until I got lucky and knocked him out with my tail. I then hurried up to Dudley's second bedroom, grabbed my stuff and sent Hedwig here.

"I rushed out of the house, only to be confronted by the arrival of more Order members. They immediately began to scream and curse me, one of them called me a gargoyle." Harry paused here to observe his friends' reactions. Hermione was frowning in thought, then her eyes suddenly widened but she managed to refrain from asking any questions, though she looked like she was bursting to. Ron, Ginny and Neville had all paled but were still listening intently. Luna didn't even blink, just sat there waiting for him to continue. "I turned and ran. I eventually lost them, and ran into the woods to hide. I climbed a tree and sat there thinking about Dumbledore's lies and manipulations. I think I fell asleep because it was almost morning when I woke up. As I was getting ready to climb down, I felt that intense pain again, and when it was over I was back to normal, only with better vision. I climbed down, left the woods and came here. You know the rest. As for your other question Hermione, I think the wards didn't react to me for the same reason that I didn't receive a letter from the ministry for underage magic. I think whatever happened to me is responsible. Do you guys have any idea what happened? And what is a gargoyle, why did everyone react to me like that?"

The others shifted uncomfortably for a few minutes as they processed everything Harry had told them. Finally Ron began to speak, "Gargoyles are dark creatures. All wizard children are taught at a young age to fear them, that they're evil and need to be exterminated."

Neville continued where he left off "Many families tell their children that if they're bad the gargoyles will come and take them away. My gran used to tell me that a lot to try to make me remember things better. She'd say that if I misbehaved or didn't remember to do my chores the gargoyles would come and steal me away."

Ginny said "They are the only magical beings that the obliviators won't erase the muggles' memories for. The ministry doesn't care if the muggle world finds out about gargoyles, they figure it will be easier to destroy them if the muggle world is also trying to kill them."

Harry looked horrified at this news. "But why! What did the Gargoyles do? Why are they considered so bad, and what does this mean for me?"

Hermione began "Well, I don't understand how you turned into a gargoyle but I did read about them. It was in one of those supplemental DADA books I read in third year when we were learning about dark creatures. Gargoyles are magical creatures that can only be found at night. During the day they turn to stone, that's where the idea came for the statues that we see on buildings all the time. However, as soon as the sun sets, they awaken, becoming flesh and blood creatures. The history I read was a little unclear on details but it said that hundreds of years ago, before wizarding society separated from the muggles, there was a war between gargoyles and humans. The book says that the gargoyles had gone crazy, wanting to exterminate the human race. The leader, a female, was said to be able to practice magic, and she had a grudge against humans. The gargoyles had gone on rampage, killing many humans, wizard and muggle alike. They were finally stopped and destroyed by a combined group of wizards and muggles. It was one of the few times that the muggle and wizarding populations successfully worked together. After that, the wizarding world decided that they were too dangerous to allow to live and began a plan to exterminate them. Gargoyles have not been seen by any wizards in Britain in nearly a hundred years, and in the rest of the world they are very rarely seen. On a side note, after the group had destroyed the group of gargoyles, the muggles turned on the wizards feeling threatened by them. That was when the Internation Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was established."

Harry considered this information before saying "You said that they turn to stone at sunrise and awake at sunset? I didn't really consider it before, but the transformation occurred at sunset last night and I changed back at sunrise. Does this mean I'm going to keep changing?" He asked, horrified at the thought.

"I don't know, Harry. I can't think of any reason for the change. As for the transformation we'll have to wait until sunset to see. But if it does happen we're going to need to find more information. We can't trust Dumbledore or the Order, and I doubt the wizarding world will be very helpful. We'll need to track down some gargoyles and get answers from them."

"Are you crazy 'Mione! You want us to track down a bunch of dangerous, dark creatures and then ask them 'By the way you don't happen to know why our friend is transforming into a dangerous dark creature, do you?'" Ron exploded.

"What happened to your attitude of 'we'll be with you every step of the way Harry' Ron? Things look hard so you want to back out, is that it?" Demanded Hermione.

"Of course not. I'm right behind Harry, this doesn't change anything. I just don't think you've thought this through. Where are we going to find a gargoyle anyway? We don't even know where to begin. You said it yourself, they haven't been seen in Britain in a hundred years." Ron explained.

"America" the unexpected answer came from Luna of all people. The group swiveled around to look at her, their mouths hanging open and she continued, "All sorts of creatures immigrated to America when the ministry began to hunt them down. They seem to be attracted to certain areas, maybe for the abundance of clovetrops that the government released there to try to control the wizarding population."

Ignoring most of what Luna said, Hermione focused on the location she gave. "I seem to remember seeing a report of some kind on the news right before I was brought to the Burrow. Something in New York, about a group of winged creatures that had blown up a police station. Well, now we have a starting point. All we can do now is wait until sunset, and see what happens. After that we'll have to make plans, I doubt any of you have a passport and we can't just portkey or floo to America."

The group settled in to wait for sunset, each fearful of what they might learn and see. However, while Harry worried about his potential upcoming transformation, he couldn't help but glance at Luna who seemed to know more than she was telling about what was happening to him.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Gargoyles belong to their respective owners, neither of which is me, I'm merely borrowing their characters. I am not making any money off of this story.

Author's Note: I know it's short butthis chapter ismostly just to show what some of the other characters are up to at this point in the story. The next chapter will be longer and should be posted in a day or so.

Chapter 3

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_Previously on Harry Potter and Lady Titania's Gift_

As the green light neared her she could only pray for her son's life and safety, then suddenly she was elsewhere, her eyes snapped open wide and she remembered.

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Manhattan

"NOOOOOOOOO! HARRY!" The being known at different times of her life as Demona and Lily Evans Potter screamed, her mind still playing the last moments of her life as Lily Potter. She looked around and was surprised to find herself on the rooftop where it had all started, so many years ago, or was it only moments. She looked down, and sure enough she was back in her original form. A noise made her look up, where she spotted a figure that immediately made her snarl with rage.

"YOU! What did you do to me! Why did you pull me back here now? Send me back, I have to save my son!"

Titania made no move to do as Demona ordered. She merely looked at her and stated, "Why would you want to go back there, to save a mere human?"

"He is my son, he is no mere human"

"It makes no difference, history has already been written and can not be changed. As for why I returned you at that moment, it was because you had finally learned your lesson. You were willing to die for a human being, even if that human was your son. Remember, your memories were suppressed and you had no way of knowing thatit was possible for you to survive that curse. How can you now turn around and destroy humanity when you would be destroying your son as well."

"You think thatyour little spell changed anything! Sure I fell in love and had a child, a human child with a human, but they are both dead now, killed by another pathetic human. Why do you think that would change anything. All it does is make me angrier and give me another reason to hate humans" Demona snarled at her, eyes glowing red.

"Ah, but is your son really dead. Remember, I merely locked away your gargoyle nature, I could not erase it. Also, your connection to the one known as Macbeth makes it so that you cannot die. You carried your son within your own body for nine months, formed a deep connection with him. Are you sure he didn't inherit anything from you that would allow him to survive? After all, that curse wouldn't have affected you, why would it affect your son who absorbed life force and magic from youwhilein the womb?"

At this Demona paused in shock and just stared at Titania. "Ha.. Harry... is alive?" she managed to ask.

"Yes. The magic he absorbed from you, gargoyle, human, and fae, was enough to allow him to survive that curse, but it is no guarantee that he would survive death a second time. Now, what would your previous plans have done to your son had they succeeded." Demona paled at these words as the consequences of her actions became clear. She would have unknowingly harmed her son, her flesh and blood. She may still dislike humans intensely, but her experience as one and her love for her son would stop her from doing anything to end them as a race. Though the time spent living and thinking as a human didn't even begin to compare to the millenium she had spent as a gargoyle, those memories were fresher and more recent inher mind,and brought her love of her son with them. 'Maybe just specific individuals who harm my family, rather than the whole race' she mused to herself. At the thought of family though she snapped her attention back to Titania.

"Where is my son! Who has been raising him? I want him back." She demanded.

"I am sorry, I too know well the pain of separation from a loved one, but I cannot answer your questions and I cannot help you to find him. You must find the answers you seek for yourself, but it is not yet time for you to find those answers. Remember, that world knew you as Lily Evans Potter, and to them you are long dead. You will encounter many obstacles in your search, so I leave you with a hint. Your son will find you. Even now he is with those loyal to him and working on discovering his past and heritage. But beware for he has enemies who will try to stop him. Do not leave this isle until you are reunited with him or you may never be. And when the time comes, your most hated enemy may well be your greatest ally in finding and helpinghim. Fare thee well." And with that Titania disappeared.

"No! Come back here and tell me where to find him, where is my son!" The night was filled with a scream of rage and sorrow, so deep and despairing that those hurrying down below on the streets paused in their movements before moving even more quickly than before. The scream tapered off,leaving only the sobs of a broken-hearted mother separated from her child. Demona sat on the roof and allowed her tears to mix with the rain for a fewlongminutes, before resolving that she would find her son and that all those who had hurt him and worked to keep them apart would pay dearly.

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Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and defeater of Grindelwald, sat in his office and seethed, totally unaware that a vow had just been made that would cause him great harm.

'Blast that boy. Nothing ever goes as planned with him. Why couldn't he just stay where he was and do as he was told like a good little boy? In a few weeks, once he was in the correct mindset, I would have allowed him to leave Privet Drive and return to the Burrow. But no, the boy has to have a temper tantrum and leave the carefully selected environment that would help me tomold him into whatI and the wizarding worldneeded him to be.'

"Damn it!" Dumbledore cursed, startling several of the paintings on the wall, "I am unable to even track him as the device that would allow me to do so was one of those he destroyed in another of his tantrums. And what was that magical outburst that was recorded right before he left? It was off the charts and the magical sensors that are intact weren't able to discern what type of magic it was. Those blasted Dursleys were of no help all they would do was babble on about freaks and unnatural demons."

The headmaster of the 'greatest school of wizardry' got up and began to pace his office, continuing to rant about his problems. "I have to find that boy. At least he hasn't been spotted near Diagon Alley, the last thing I need is for him to go to Gringotts and hear that will. Damn Black for leaving a will that would cause me so many problems. If the boy learns of his inheritance I'll lose my source of funding this war, not to mention my own pockets." At this many of the portraits were looking disapprovingly down on the old wizard. "Why did the boy have to take after his mother so much? Why couldn't he be more like James Potter, now there was someone who was always willing to do what I said, who I could mold this way and that. No he had to take after Lily Evans, blasted girl was always suspicious, never listened to anything I said.

"The boy is also influencing his friends to doubt me. I had planned on using them to keep tabs on the boy but they insist on trying to disobey my orders. Blasted brats. Perhaps Severus will have a potion that will make them more compliant, I will have to check on that. At least Severus' lessons managed to open the boy's mind to Riddle. If they become so interconnected via their link, then when one dies the other will, and I will gain even more power as I become known as the one who defeated Voldemort instead of that boy. He'll be gone and of no threat to my power.

"But first I have to find the damn brat. Perhaps the other brats have a clue, I'll check on that tomorrow. Now I have to go over those reports of a gargoyle spotting. Just what I need, for those vermin to return. They've been gone from Britain for years, why would they have to return now of all times. I'll have Alastor look into it. Hopefully he can exterminate the problem before it becomes serious."

And with that "the most respected and powerful wizard in all of Britain" returned to his desk and began to work on some paperwork, unaware that his problems were only just beginning.

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And so two different people in two different parts of the world made plans centering on finding one boy. One to control him, and the other to be reunited with and protect him. Neither knowing that the other was searching, it was still a race to find him. And when those two met, the confrontation that would take place would change many things and the consequences would be felt the world over. In the meantime, Harry was safe with his friends, making plans of their own.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Gargoyles belong to their respective owners, neither of which is me, I'm merely borrowing their characters. I am not making any money off of this story.

Author's note: Here isthe chapter I promised and it's much longer than the last one was. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. The next chapter probably won't be up until this comingweekend as I have a paper that I need to finish writing for school.

Chapter 4

The Burrow (Late afternoon/early evening)

The group was sitting in the field again, this time with their school books and homework with them. Mrs. Weasley had wanted them to spend time closer to the house, but they had managed to convince her that they just wanted to enjoy the sun and fresh air while they could. Hermione told her that they were going to work on their homework and that the fresh air would allow them to work better. That set Mrs Weasley off on how proud she was that her children "were finally becoming serious about their schooling" and that "they were getting a head start on their studying." She left them alone after that but did provide them with a basket full of snacks to "help keep their brains fed and on their studies." She wasn't too worried because of the wards around the property that were monitoring them and keeping her aware of where they are and a basic idea of what they were doing.

So the group had carried their books to the field and joined Harry. Ron had immediately began protesting when Hermione prodded them about actually beginning to study but after a short arguement in which Hermione pointed out that Mrs. Weasley would know if they were studying or playing Quidditch, and might come to investigate and yell at them, he settled down with his books, grumbling the whole time.

As he was getting settled however, he looked up and spotted Harry, and tried one last ditch effort to get out of doing the work. "Hey, how come Harry doesn't have to do any work!"

Harry though had been growing bored of just sitting around while his friends came and went, so he just shrugged, pulled out his shrunken trunk, enlarged it and took out his school books before reshrinking the trunk. This caused his friends, even Luna, to stare at him in shock at his casual breaking of the statutes of use of underage magic. That is until Hermione began shrieking at him.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! Are you crazy! The whole point of hiding out is that no one knows where you are! Now the ministry can track you, not to mention that you'll probably be expelled for your blatant use of underage magic! What were you THINKING!"

When Hermione paused for breath and Harry's ears stopped ringing long enough for him to answer, he responded "Hermione, I've been using magic on and off since last night, I told you that. Whatever that transformation did, it somehow blew out the ministry's tracking charms. I think it may have changed my magic a bit as well, my wand has felt a bit different. Like my magic was blocked and now isn't or something. That's also why I think the wards aren't reacting to me, remember?"

A now calm and blushing Hermione could only answer, "Oh."

Now that that outburst was taken care of the group settled in to do their homework. However, each of them was alert to the sun's movement above their heads, and as it grew nearer to sunset each had more and more difficulty concentrating on their work. Even Hermione found herself rereading the same page over and over without understanding it. Finally, with about a half hour until sunset the group put their books aside, Harry returning his to his trunk, and settled in to anxiously wait for the sun to set.

As the sun began to set and the sky darken they had their answer. Harry collapsed to ground, screaming in agony. If he had been able to think about it, he would have been grateful for the silencing spell Hermione had had him cast as a precaution. They didn't want anyone from the Burrow to come investigate, after all. His body began to shift, bones twisting and changing shape. His hands and feet became clawed, and lost a digit each. Wings and a tail sprouted from his body, and his skin changed color and became stronger, harder to pierce.

Finally it was over, and his friends took in the change in Harry. His clothes were now little more than rags, barely holding together. His skin was a pale blue and he seemed a bit taller. His hair seemed even more wild than before, if that was possible. Looking at his face, they could still see their friend, but probably only because they knew to look. His face was harsher, more reptilian looking, but still Harry. His most familiar features were his scar and his eyes but his scar was faded and hard to see unless you knew to look for it. His eyes however, were the same vibrant shade of green as ever.

"Well" Harry asked hesitantly after a few moments of silence, "How do I look?"

"You're a terrifying monster." Neville responded with a straight face. Everyone turned to look at him in shock. He continued "I'm sure anyone who sees you will be terrified if they spot you. But that's not much different than normal is it." He laughed. It took a few seconds for his words to sink in, then they all had a quick laugh over Harry's indignant "Hey!"

"But seriously, how do I look?" Harry asked now that the tension was broken.

Ginny asked "You were like this all last night, how come you don't know what you look like?"

"I was a little busy dodging curses, then I was up in a tree. I didn't exactly have a chance to look in a mirror, now did I?"

"Oh, right" she replied, blushing a bit at her forgetfulness. "Here." she handed him a mirror and he had a chance to examine his features himself.

"I don't really look that different. I mean not if you know that it's me and you can look for it. But the skin and extra body parts will really throw everyone else off. I guess nobody will recognize me if they don't know to look."

"We need to come up with a plan and we don't have much time. If we stay out here too long after dark someone will come looking for us. Harry can't be caught, especially not now. Who knows if they'll even give us a chance to explain, or if they'll just see a 'dark creature' and shoot first and ask questions later." Hermione got right down to business.

"Mum'll still be busy cooking and the others won't be home for a little longer, so we've got at least a half hour but any longer and we'll be asking for trouble" came Ron's response.

"I actually thought a bit about this while I was waiting for you to come back from the house. I mean we've got a destination, we just need to figure out a way to get there. I've thought about it, and I think that muggle transportation is the best way. Most wizards won't think to look for us that way and they won't be able to track us to our destination. That is, if you guys still want to come with me?"

He was met by vehement responses from all of his friends ranging from "Of course we still want to go with you" to "That transformation screwed with your head if you thought we'd abandon you" to "Are the grizzledweets invading your head to make you ask such a question?"

"Alright, sorry, just had to be sure. In that case the biggest obstacle is that most of us don't have the proper muggle identification papers. I think I know a way to fix that. I've heard that enough money will fix any problems and I've got plenty of it just sitting there in Gringott's not doing me any good. So what we have to do is get to Gringott's."

"Mate, I think you're missing something here. If any of us try to leave the property, alarms will go off and the whole order will show up to lock us away."

"Maybe not," came Hermione's reply. "I studied the ward that they put up and it's fairly simple to circumvent" She was interrupted by Ron's exclamation of "Then why didn't we already take care of it." He quickly shut up at her glare. She continued "As I was saying Ronald, the wards are fairly simple to circumvent IF you can use magic, which we couldn't. But Harry can."

"Then we just need to figure out when to go, and I think I know the perfect time. Mum is supposed to go to headquarters for Order business. We'll be left here by ourselves for a couple of hours. Mum's not worried because the wards will keep us from going anywhere. So after Mum leaves, Harry lifts the wards and we floo to Diagon Alley. Harry should also disguise us in case there are any Order members about. Wouldn't do for us to be seen." Ginny reasoned.

"I think we should also pack our stuff and have Harry shrink it. I don't think we'll get another chance and if we go and get caught coming back that's it, we're done for." Neville added.

"Okay, then we're all decided?" Harry asked and everyone nodded. "Then you guys had better get back to the house before someone comes. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and could you guys please save me some breakfast? These transformations really make me hungry."

The five left, and Harry settled in for the night wondering what they would learn once they reached their destinations. As he looked at the star-filled sky he contemplated trying to fly with his new wings but decided against it for a couple of reasons. First it wouldn't do for anyone to spot him, and second he wasn't sure how the bloody things worked to begin with. The experiments could wait for another night, when he didn't have to worry about being caught.

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The sun was up for a couple of hours when Mrs. Weasley finally left and Ron signaled Harry to come in. Mrs. Weasley had been suspicious when the five had all gotten up early but Ron quickly explained that Ginny had promised him she would practice Quidditch with him to help him keep in practice for next season. The others were going to watch from the ground and give them some pointers, plus help them get used to playing in front of an audience. Mrs. Weasley had merely "Hmmphed" and warned them about "not being spotted by any muggles, to be careful, and to finish their homework." Then she left.

Harry quickly came in, shrunk all of their trunks, and then quickly ate the breakfast they had saved for him. He then performed the charm as Hermione instructed him, as well as the disguises they all needed. He stood in front of a mirror to do his. Then one by one they entered the fireplace and called out "Diagon Alley". Harry spun around and around before being spit out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron at an incredible speed. He felt himself collide with something, and then just lay on the floor, still dizzy from the method of travel. He lifted his head when he heard a throat being cleared. Looking up he realized he was laying on top of someone, no two someones. He quickly got up blushing a bright red and stammering apologies to Luna and Ginny. Luna merely brushed him off muttering about some type of creature or other, but Ginny raised an eyebrow and said "Why Harry, I didn't know you cared" which just made him blush and stammer more. Once the group had had a good laugh and Harry's face was no longer Weasley red, they continued out into the alley.

The group quickly made their way through the alley to the bank. They went in groups of two so they would be less noticeable. They all noticed how empty the alley looked, the few people who were there were hurrying about their business and looking over their shoulder, as if expecting an attack at any moment. Harry was disturbed by the sight because the alley had always been busy whenever he had come. However he was grateful that Ron was his partner rather than Ginny or Luna. He was still a bit embarrassed. Well he was grateful until Ron asked "So what's going on between you and my sister?"

Harry spluttered "What do you mean, nothing's going on between us. I tripped, is all and Ginny decided to tease me."

"I've seen the looks she's been giving you. I just want to know how you feel about her. I mean, you're my best mate, like a brother to me, but she's my sister and I don't want her to get hurt."

"Ron she's a friend. I don't know about any other type of feelings I might have. I didn't exactly have the best environment growing up to be able recognize those type of feelings anyway, you know. Plus with all that's happened in the past couple of days I'm confused enough as it is without thinking about possible relationships. Besides, I thought she said she was dating Dean."

"Nah, she just said that to rile me up. And I understand what you're saying, just maybe you should talk with her, get things settled so she's not getting her hopes up yet."

Any further conversation was ended as they reached the bank and met up with the others. They entered and began to approach one of the tellers when Harry bumped into someone. He looked down and immediately began apologizing to the annoyed goblin. "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you alright?" The goblin looked less annoyed and more puzzled at the sincere apology coming from the wizard before him, and stared at him intently.

Harry, feeling uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny apologized again, taking a closer look at the gobling. "I really am sorry. I should have been watching where I was going, Griphook, wasn't it?"

"You know my name, sir?" The goblin, Griphook was definitely puzzled now. Never before had any wizard apologized to a goblin for bumping into them, usually they act as if it was the goblin's fault and begin to order them about. This young wizard not only apologized, but seemed to recognize Griphook.

"Well, yes. You took me down to my vault for the first time and I've seen you around a few times after that, though I haven't been here in a few years and I looked different at the time."

"No, I know who you are Mr. Potter. Inside Gringotts disguises do not fool Goblins. Can't have someone trying to take that which doesn't belong to them, now can we? No, I was surprised because you not only recognized me but remembered my name as well."

"Well that trip was memorable, and it is only common courtesy to greet someone by name when you see them."

"Indeed Mr. Potter." replied Griphook, growing more impressed with the young wizard as the conversation went on. Harry's friends had paused and were watching the conversation taking place. "I gather that you are here in response to the notice that Gringott's sent you?"

Now it was Harry's turn to be puzzled, "Notice, what notice? I've never received any mail from Gringotts. Actually now that I think about it, I should ask about getting an account statement for my vault as well."

"The notice about your godfather, Sirius Black's will. Do you mean to tell me that you have never received any of your account statements, at all?" Griphook was really frowning now. "Prior to your thirteenth birthday, all statements were sent to your magical guardian, but after you turned 13 you should have begun to receive them for yourself, so that you could prepare for when you came of age. This is disturbing news indeed. Please come with me, your friends may come as well if you wish." The group exchanged looks and agreed.

Griphook led the group to what appeared to be a conference room with a large table and chairs in the center. "Please wait here and make yourselves comfortable. I will return quickly with a manager and we will get to the bottom of this."

Harry removed the glamours from himself and his friends, figuring the goblins could already see through them, so it didn't make a difference, then they all sat down. He asked "Does anyone know what's going on? I keep learning things that it seems like I should have known all along but noone ever tells me. What's a magical guardian? What did Griphook mean about my receiving notices after my 13th birthday?"

Neville answered him "A magical guardian is for those who are raised in the muggle world by muggles. They won't have any knowledge before they enter the wizarding world, so they are assigned a magical guardian to look out for their interests and help inform them about our society."

Hermione continued here "I have one, it's some ministry official from the muggle relations department. She came after I received my letter and explained all about Hogwarts and the wizarding world to my parents and I."

"I never got any of that. All that happened was that letters began appearing, then Hagrid showed up and told me I was a wizard. Sounds like Dumbledore was manipulating me again, keeping me ignorant. And before you say it Hermione, I know I could have looked the information up myself when I got to Hogwarts, but it was all new to me and I didn't know what to look up or even that I had to. But what about that thirteenth birthday?"

Neville answered again "You know how 13 is a special number in magic, right? Well that's when wizards and witches are supposed to start maturing more, both physicaly, mentaly and magically. We're supposed to start taking more responsibility for our own affairs. My gran started trying to teach me more about our financial matters and family stuff when I turned 13. For orphans, such as yourself Harry, you're supposed to start learning as much as possible about your accounts so that when you come of age at 17 you are prepared to deal with everything. You'll also have access to your family vault and investments then so you really need to know how to deal with it."

"My what? What's a family vault? I thought I already had access to my vault."

"No Harry, that's probably just a trust fund that your parents set up for you for Hogwarts. All the old families do that. There is no way that you only have that one vault, the Potters are one of the oldest, richest and most prestigious families. And as the only member left, you inherit it all" Neville explained.

"Something else Dumbledore has kept hidden from me" Harry grumbled. "Wait, I haven't been getting any statements so I have no way of knowing, but is it possible that someone has been accessing those accounts?" The group paled at the thought that Dumbledore had been stealing from Harry for years on top of everything else he had done to him.

The group sat in silence contemplating that thought for a few moments before Griphook returned with several other goblins. Harry and his friends rose to greet them. The one in the most elaborate clothes with several fancy rings on each hand spoke. "Greetings Mr. Potter, my name is Ragnok. Griphook informed us of some irregularities regarding your account, and after some investigating we found his report to be accurate and disturbing. You have our sincerest apologies for this and we promise that we will discover how this was allowed to happen." Harry noticed that his friends had gone very pale when the goblin introduced himself but ignored it in favor of responding to Ragnok.

"Thank you for meeting with me Ragnok. I am sure you are an extremely busy person so I'll try to take up as little of your time as possible. After all, time is money. And please call me Harry" Harry received some strange looks from the goblins for this but Ragnok just nodded and said to Griphook "You were correct." Everyone sat down at the table.

"Thank you Mr. Potter, Harry. Let me inform you of what we have discovered so far. Shortly after your parents untimely death Albus Dumbledore used his position to get himself declared your magical guardian. He could not touch your accounts until you turned 11 and accessed them yourself. Now, he has no way of accessing the Potter Family Trust itself, as he is not a Potter, but he could access your school trust vault. Every year after you left for school he would transfer the money from your vault into one of his own accounts. Your trust vault is refilled every year in June from main family vault, so it is doubtful you have noticed a difference. I promise you Mr. Potter we are working on discovering how this was allowed to happen. As for why you have not been receiving your Gringott's notices, we have found that there is a mail ward up designed to prevent you from receiving mail from anyone not specified by the person who set it. Simply put, your mail was being intercepted."

"Thank you Ragnok. I appreciate all of the effort you have put into this. Is there any way to get back the money that Dumbledore has stolen from me?"

"Yes. Right now we are watching the accounts that he transferred the money to. We want to make sure that he hasn't done this with any other accounts. If he tries to withdraw or otherwise move that money it will be transferred back to the appropriate accounts. Right now we don't want to tip him off that we know what he is up to."

"I understand. Thank you."

"Now Mr. Pot.., Harry, about another matter. You were named the main beneficiary of Sirius Black's will. Other than a few bequeathments to members of the Weasley family, the Tonks family, a charity and a Remus Lupin, he left everything to you. He also left papers that would emancipate you, making you an adult in the eyes of the law. All you have to do is sign them."

"Thank you Ragnok. May I see the papers?" Harry received and quickly read through the papers, passing them to Hermione to double check what they are. They looked fairly straight-foward and clear. "Thank you Ragnok. Everything seems to be in order. But before I sign, is there anyway of keeping this quiet, I'd rather Dumbledore not find out just yet. An ace up my sleeve, if you will?"

"Of course Harry. All of our dealings are confidential. There is no need for Dumbledore to find out. We'll simply quietly file the papers with several others and Dumbledore will never know the difference until you inform him." The goblin passed him a familiar looking quill and was surprised when Harry glared at it. "Is everything alright Harry? It is a simple contractual quill, foul things I agree but contracts of this magnitude need to be signed in blood."

"I'm alright. I've just had bad experience with this type of quill before." He quickly signed the documents, hissing in pain. He explained further at the goblin's inquisitive look. "We had a professor last year who made us write lines with a similar quill for detention. She was Fudge's lackey and working to discredit me because I said Voldemort was back, so I spent many nights in detention writing 'I must not tell lies'" Harry showed the goblin the back of his hand where the words could still be seen.

The goblins all hissed and began muttering in Gobbledygook. "Mr. Potter, Harry, am I correct in assuming that the professor in question was Dolores Umbridge." At Harry's nod he continued "We have had the unfortunate experience of dealing with her ourselves. And the laws she tries to introduce, bah. Everyone knows quite clearly her feelings on non and part humans. What she did to you was illegal, those quills are restricted items and are only to be used for signing contracts. We would be honored to level charges against her for you. Do you know of any other students she forced to write with the quill?" Harry and his friends quickly gave the goblins who were now smiling broadly and showing off mouths full of sharp teeth, a list of students they knew had been forced to write with a blood quill.

"Now Mr. Potter is there anything else we can do for you?"

Harry looked at his friends before replying. "Actually we need to get out of Britain for a while and don't want to be tracked, so we want to travel the muggle way. It's not too likely that anybody will think to look for us that way. But the problem is that most of us don't have the proper identification needed. Do you know of any way we could quickly obtain it?"

"Yes Mr. Potter we can help you with that." Ragnok signaled one of the other goblins and he quickly left the room. "It will take a bit of time to arrange. If you tell me your destination we can also help arrange the transportation. It is the least we can do to make things up to you."

"It was not your fault Ragnok, but thank you. We need to go to New York City in America. We had planned on taking a muggle airplane. We would prefer it if we could book a morning flight" Harry replied thinking of his 'condition'.

"Of course Harry" and Ragnok sent another goblin off to take care of it. "Now while that is being taken care of do you mind if we settle some of the bequests from Mr. Black's will since several of the recipients are present? Good, to Ron Weasley goes a vault with 5000 galleons and 10 percent ownership in the Chudley Cannons. To Ginerva Weasley goes a vault with 5000 galleons and a stipend for a yearly account with Madame Malkins robe shop. To Hermione Granger goes a vault with 5000 galleons and 10 percent ownership in Flourish and Blotts bookstore. Mr. Black also left a donation to St. Mungo's to help those in the long-term care ward, especially 'his old friends Frank and Alice Longbottom who didn't deserve what happened to them'." The teenagers were all touched, especially Neville who had never met Sirius.

The other goblins returned with the appropriate paperwork which was passed to the teens. "You now have all the identification you need and tickets for a flight to LaGuardia airport in New York that departs at 9:00 a.m. We also arranged a hotel suite for you for tonight that is not far from the airport." Just then another goblin rushed in and began conversing rapidly in Gobbledygook with Ragnok who frowned before stating "It appears that a certain group of people have arrived and are searching for you. It is impossible for you to exit normally without being spotted, even if you were disguised. Fortunately we have another way out. If you give me a magical oath to never reveal this secret I will allow you to use our back door." The group quickly agreed and swore the oath. "The exit will let you out near the muggle underground where you can catch a train and travel to your hotel. Griphook will show you the way."

"Thank you for everything Ragnok. May you always prosper." Harry and his friends said goodbye before following Griphook. They were soon well on their way to their hotel. As they were riding the train Harry asked his friends why they had been so shocked when Ragnok introduced himself. When told the answer his reply was "I was talking with WHO!"

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Earlier that day, the Burrow

Albus Dumbledore was in a much better mood. He had convinced Severus to brew the potion with few questions asked, met with the Order who seemed to think the had a possible location on Harry, and had managed to convince Molly Weasley to let him speak with the children. "After all, they may have a clue about where he would have gone, something he may have said." His day was about to go from good to bad.

He was now waiting in the living room while she searched for them. "Albus!" she cried "I can't find them. I looked at the clock and Ron and Ginny's hands were pointing to traveling. Where could they be and how did they manage to evade the wards? I checked, the wards are still active. How could this have happened!"

Albus cast a few spells then sighed when they turned up nothing. He closed his eyes in frustration as the woman continued to wail. 'Blasted brats. They probably met up with Potter too, now I've got to find 6 of them instead of just 1. Why can't kids today just do as they're told.'

"Molly" he said trying to calm her down. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're fine. They probably went to meet up with Harry. As for the wards don't forget that they are a clever bunch, they probably found a way to circumvent them. Let's go back to Headquarters and brainstorm some ideas."

"OOH those children. That's probably what they were doing yesterday. Getting fresh air and studying, bah. I should have known better than to believe them. Oh Albus we have to find them" She cried.

"Don't worry Molly we'll find them." Her wailing was really beginning to get on his nerves.

They returned to Headquarters and met up with the members who were still there. They began to list places the teenagers may have gone. After a while, Tonks stumbled in, literally. "OOF. Oh Professor Dumbledore, someone says that they think they spotted Harry in Diagon Alley. Looks like he was headed toward Gringotts. He wasn't alone, from the description it may have been the others."

Inwardly Dumbledore seethed. 'No, I have to keep that brat from learning about his finances and Black's will.' Outwardly he remained calm and stated "Nymphadora, Kingsley, Hestia, Alastor, let's head to Gringott's, I'm sure we'll find them there. Molly you wait here, don't worry we'll bring them back in no time."

Dumbledore and those he named quickly apparated to Diagon Alley and entered the bank. Those with him headed around the lobby to search for signs of the teens while Dumbledore began questioning the tellers. After a few minutes of getting no answers, a goblin showed up and escorted Dumbledore to an office where Ragnok the senior most goblin at Gringotts and leader of the Goblin Nation waited for him.

"Mr. Dumbledore, how can we at Gringotts assist you today." Ragnok asked.

"I am looking for a group of teenagers who were seen headed here." Dumbledore quickly explained who he was looking for.

"I am sorry but we are unable to help you. It has been quiet today, and noone you described has been to the tellers or visit the vaults. If there is nothing else I bid you a good day."

Dumbledore seethed at being dismissed so easily but knowing there was little he could do he left the office. As he was leaving the building he cast a spell which confirmed that those he was seeking were not present in the building and there was no way they could have gotten past his order members. Defeated for now, he collected his Order members and returned to headquarters to try to figure out where the teenagers could be, again. However, he was not looking foward to facing Molly Weasley when he returned without her children.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Gargoyles belong to their respective owners, neither of which is me, I'm merely borrowing their characters. I am not making any money off of this story.

Author's Note: My sincere apologies to everyone reading this. I know it took a long time to get out but I went through a rough patch and it took me a few months to get back into a writing mood. My grandmother had been very sick and passed away over the summer. When that happened I was unable to bring myself to continue to write until now. I would like to thank everyone who saw my note in my profile and sent me thier condolences. I promise that the updates should be much more regular now.

Also I believe that the time difference between London and NYC is 5 hours, so if the plane leaves Britain at 10 am, takes 9 hours to get there, then they land at 2 pm EST. I also know that magic isn't tracked through wand use, but for this story it fits better, so I am using the wand tracers plot device.

Chapter 5

Heathrow Airport

"Hermione, I think we overlooked something in our plan" Harry muttered as they tried to corral their friends into one area of the enormous airport.

She shot him a glare and said "Oh really, and what might that be?"

Harry winced, neither of them were in a very good mood at the moment. When they had made their plans to travel the muggle way, they had overlooked one simple, obvious fact: Their friends were purebloods who had never been truly exposed to muggles and muggle technology before, both of which the airport had in abundance. Harry winced again as he spotted Ron exclaiming over a conveyor belt while Luna went on about looking for some creature or other in the device. Even Ginny, who had taken muggle studies, was gawking at everything. Then again, Harry wasn't much better when he wasn't busy trying to keep track of his friends, afterall the Dursleys never took him anywhere so he had never seen anything like the airport before either.

After finally managing to herd their friends into a lounge area to wait for their flight, Harry and Hermione collapsed into the chairs available. The others also sat down, but continued to look around the airport in excitement from their seats, though thankfully no longer asking questions that would get them odd looks from the other passangers. An older, dark skinned woman looked up from where was sitting nearby and glanced at the group. "First time flying?" she asked with a hint of amusement. She spoke with an accent, the teens noticed absently, as they nodded. "It's always exciting the first time. Then it just becomes boring and annoying, especially when your flights get delayed, or transferred and you have to catch connecting flights." She spoke from experience. "I'm Diane Maza" she introduced herself.

Polite and proper as ever Hermione took up introductions for the group. "Hello Mrs. Maza. It's nice to meet you. I'm Hermione Granger and these are my friends Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ron and Ginny Weasley" indicating each person as she named them. "Have you flown often?" she asked Diane.

"Yes, many times, and please call me Diane. May I ask where you are traveling to? Where are your parents?" Diane asked as she took in the appearances of the teens. The group of teenagers had woken up late and had been unable to obtain new clothes to travel in, so they were wearing the best clothes they could find that would fit in in the muggle world. Hermione's clothes were alright of course but Harry was still wearing Dudley's old cast-offs which were ragged and at least four sizes too big. Ron and Ginny's clothes were frayed and patched in places, obviously second-hand, and Neville and Luna's clothes were mismatched.

Hermione correctly guessing what Diane was thinking, inwardly winced. The last thing they needed was for people to start paying attention to them. Unfortunately none of them knew any charms to fix the clothes. Hermione began with the cover story she and Harry had come up with. "We are going to New York. Harry has some relatives there that we are going to stay with. Unfortunately the trip was finalized at the last minute. We attend a boarding school up north, so all we really had with us were our uniforms and a few spare casual clothes, most of which are dirty. Our parents sent our luggage ahead and none of us realized that that would mean we had nothing to wear on the journey there. None of us wanted to wear our uniforms on such a long trip, so we scrounged through our limited wardrobe and that of some classmates to find clothes that we could wear today. I'm aware that we must look such a fright but it was the best we could do."

Diane nodded, it made sense but there was a something about the story that didn't ring true (after raising three children, she could spot bullshit a mile away), so she filed it away for later reference. "I am from New York. I've been abroad, tracing my roots in Nigeria. I am returning home now, to be with my family. If you like I could try to give you information, from a native's perspective."

Diane had said the magic words for Hermione immediately began bombarding Diane with questions, such as what's the city like, what is the weather like, what kinds of museums and libraries are there to visit, what are some of the historical areas of importance, is it safe at night,etc. Diane answered her questions as best as she could. At the last one she said, "The city is as safe as any city can be at night. My husband and son were both police officers before retiring, and my daughter is a police detective as well. No city is ever without crime, but ours is well protected and the crime rate has gone down in recent years."

This led Hermione to ask "Why? What happened in recent years?"

"Why, the gargoyles happened, that's what. Those beings are the best thing to happen to the city in recent years. They swoop down and take care of any criminals foolish enough to cross their path. They protect the city and those in it from the worst parts of society."

Diane's answer clearly shocked the teenagers. They were used to thinking of gargoyles as dark creatures, yet here this muggle woman was claiming they were good, that they protected the innocent. Thinking furiously Hermione asked "But I heard on the news that the gargoyles had blown up a police station. If they are so good why would they blow up a building full of police officers?"

Hermione's question made Diane scowl. "The gargoyles didn't blow up the police station, they would never do that. In fact that's why I'm in such a rush to get home. That police station was the one that my daughter works out of. I want to make sure she is alright. I know what those blasted reporters are saying about the gargoyles but they're all wrong. The gargoyles are good, and they caught the ones that were behind the destruction of the station. It was a group of people who were out to destroy the gargoyles."

The teenagers were really confused by the woman's vehement defense of the gargoyles and sat in silence for a few minutes. That is, until Ron noticed something creeping across his chair, inching it's way closer and closer to him, ready to take a bite out of him with it's venomous fangs. He leapt from his seat, screaming. "AAAAHHHHHH!!! Spider! Spider! Kill it, get rid of it, just get it away from me!"

The group shared a laugh, the tension broken, as Ginny reached over and swatted the spider away, rolling her eyes at her brother's fear. Even Diane had a chuckle or two over Ron's reaction. "That reminds me of a tale I learned while in Africa. Have any of you heard the tale of Anansi?" When they shook their heads, Diane went on to tell them the story, as well as a carefully edited version of the more recent tale that she experienced first hand with her daughter and the gargoyles. Eventually their flight was called to board the plane and the teens said goodbye to Diane as they went to their separate seats.

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Manhattan (Main Offices of Nightstone Unlimited)

Demona, now in her human form of Dominique Destine, paced her spacious office in frustration. "Damn it!" she cried, hurling an object from her desk at the wall, where it shattered. "Damn Titania for being bloody right!" She growled with a hint of a British accent.

She had been attempting to track down Harry for the last few days with no luck. None of her sources could find any information on him in the real world, the non-wizarding world that is, and it's not like she knew where to find any wizarding sources. She couldn't just waltz into a wizarding center, even if she knew where to find one which she didn't. In her human form, she had no way of proving who she was to gain access as she didn't have a wand, and in her gargoyle form all that would occur would be for a riot to start or a lynch mob to form.

Demona paused in her pacing, trying to recall Titania's exact words. 'You will encounter many obstacles in your search, so I leave you with a hint. Your son will find you. Even now he is with those loyal to him and working on discovering his past and heritage. But beware for he has enemies who will try to stop him. Do not leave this isle until you are reunited with him or you may never be.'

"So I have to wait for Harry to come here before I can find him. But he probably thinks I'm dead, so how would he know to look for me? What am I missing?"

Demona sat down at her desk and continued to ponder over Titania's words and what they could mean while attempting to get some work done.

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Preparing to land at LaGuardia (approximately 2 pm

"This was a really bad idea" Harry repeated to Hermione for what seemed like the hundredth time. Hermione gave him a glare. In her opinion, Harry was part of the problem, just not as much as the other four. Traveling the muggle way had seemed like a good idea at the time but they never took into consideration that the others had never really been exposed to muggle technology. When they had boarded the plane the others had began excitedly examining things again, like they had in the airport. The stewardess had looked at them oddly but had patiently escorted them to their seats (First Class thanks to the goblins) and answered a few of their questions about the plane.

The real trouble started when the plane actually lifted off. There was some turbulence, and several of the teens turned green. Ron and Neville had the worst reactions, and needed to use something the stewardess called a "barf bag". After that things got worse. With Ron and Neville feeling ill, Luna and Ginny became worried that the plane wasn't safe and was making them sick. Hermione and Harry tried to reassure the other four, but Harry had his doubts as well, having never flown in a plane before and not knowing what to expect. Fortunately the stewardess' started showing some movies which took their attention off their fears as they became entranced in what they were watching. They questioned and exclaimed over what was shown in the movies, much to the other passengers annoyance. Even Harry was excited having never really been allowed to watch movies at the Dursleys.

Once they had settled in for the flight, Ron and Neville had begun to feel better. Ron's appetite came back in force when the stewardess' began serving the inflight meal. He had three servings, that came back to haunt him now that they were landing. Now that the plane was landing the teens (except for Hermione and to a degree Harry) fears were returning. They worried about crashing, and Ron lost the meal he had eaten to the "barf bag" again.

Finally it was over, now all they had to do was exit the plane and make their way through customs then they could go to their hotel and try to find some answers.

"Next time I'm flying myself" Ron moaned as he waited for his stomach to settle. The stewardess' and other passengers were glad to see the group go, they acted too strange and asked the weirdest questions.

Finally the group made it through customs, collected their luggage and exited the aiport. Harry was unsurprised to find a car waiting for them. The goblins really did think of everything.

Flashback

As the group traveled through Gringotts to the back exit, Griphook turned to Harry and gave him a large packet. "Here you are Mr. Potter. This should help you in your travels. Inside you will find what the muggles call a debit card. You can use it in any store and the money will be taken directly from your vault. This will be very helpful if you intend to travel through the muggle world. Also included are reservations for a hotel in Manhatten as well as details on the provided transportation."

"Thank you Griphook. I really appreciate all the help that you and the other goblins have given us. Is there anything else you think we should know?" Harry questioned the goblin.

"Yes, you should know that the laws against magical beings are not as strict in America as they are here in Britain. Also, I feel that you and your friends have shown yourselves to be better than most wizards in your treatment of goblins and other nonhumans, therefore I am going to let you in on a secret. There is a charm on all underaged wizards wands that allows the ministry to track magic. I am willing to remove this charm from each of your wands. Also, as you do not wish to be tracked I will scan each of you for tracking charms and remove any I find."

The group of teens didn't know what to say to this. The ability to do magic out of school was a dream come true and Griphook's offer to remove tracking charms from them was something they hadn't even considered. They hadn't even thought that the Order may have placed tracking charms in addition to the wards. They quickly agreed and thanked the goblin profusely.

Griphook quickly removed the underage charms and a few minor tracking charms from several items on the teens before turning to Harry. "It seems Mr. Potter that you had many tracking charms on yourself but somehow have already neutralized them. From what I can tell it seems that a large magical backlash of some sort seems to have overloaded and canceled them, including the one on your wand." Harry was quiet, knowing that Griphook was talking about his first transformation. "In any case you are all "clean" now and nobody will be able to track you. Here is the exit, I wish you and your friends luck in whatever it is you are attempting to do." A section of the wall opened and the group once again thanked the goblin as they made their way through to an empty section of the muggle underground.

End Flashback

The group took the car, a limo to their hotel, The Hilton, where they checked into their rooms. The goblins had arranged for them to have a large penthouse suite with several bedrooms connected to a sitting/family room area and a kitchenette. The group picked rooms, and placed their things inside before returning to the main area to make plans.

A.N.: I know not a lot of action. The next chapter will be out soon and things should start happening then.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Gargoyles belong to their respective owners, neither of which is me, I'm merely borrowing their characters. I am not making any money off of this story.

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay in posting this. I have had most of this chapter written and sitting on my computer for months but I had a case of writers block and couldn't get the chapter to go where I wanted it to. I'm still not completely satisfied with the way it turned out but I wanted to post something. However I am still working on this story. In the next few chapters (which will hopefully be posted fairly quick) an event I've been anticipating since I began this story will take place. I am greatly looking foward to that scene and hopefully will be able to write it so that it will fit how I have seen it. I think you will all like what I have planned.

Chapter 6

Penthouse Suite, The Hilton

"Okay, we're in New York, now what?" asked Ron as the group settled down on the available couches and chairs in the main room of their suite. "Hermione?" The teens all looked towards the bushy haired witch.

Hermione bit her lip as she thought things over. It's about 3:30 pm. I checked in a newspaper at the airport and sunset is at 8:15 tonight. That gives us about four and a half hours of daylight before we have to be back here. I don't think we should be out in public after dark, at least not on our first night here" she stated as she looked toward Harry. "I mean, we don't know the city and we don't know the public opinion of gargoyles. It wouldn't do to be caught outside when Harry changes."

Harry sighed. "You mean **I** can't be out after dark. Looks like my _condition_ is already causing problems. If you guys want to go out, I don't mind."

"No Harry, we're all in this together. And you are not causing any problems. I don't think its wise for any of us to be out after dark on our first night in the city, not just you. We need to learn about our surroundings and the people before we try anything."

"Thanks Hermione. Okay, even if we won't be going out tonight, we still have this afternoon. And I think I know what we need to do first" he stated as he looked down at himself and his friends, remembering the looks on the staff and other guests when they first checked in. The concierge had been calling security over to 'escort' them off the premesis. Thankfully Harry's passport and debit card, as well as the reservations the goblins had provided, had been enough to prove their identity. In fact, once the staff had realized their mistake, they had been most apologetic and bent over backwards to accomodate them. "Hermione, do you think we have enough time to buy some clothes before sunset?"

The others, except Hermione and Luna (the former because her clothes were alright, the latter because she didn't see anything wrong with her outfit) looked down at themselves and grimaced. Ron and Ginny however, seemed especially uncomfortable.

Ron opened his mouth and started, uncomfortably, "Harry, I know Ginny and I don't really fit in but we don't have access to our vaults and -"

Harry cut him off there. "Ron, I have enough money in my vault to cover what we need **and** I can access it with the debit card the goblins gave me. Don't worry about it." When Ron, and Ginny, still looked uncomfortable, Harry continued, "Look, you guys are my friends and the closest thing I have to a family. None of you had to come with me, but you all chose to follow me and find out why these things are happening to me. You need the clothes to fit in here and help me. The least I can do is pay for them. Besides, I **want** to do it. Like I said before, you guys are my family and family should take care of each other." Now it was Harry's turn to look uncomfortable as he finished his little speech. He never really felt comfortable talking about his emotions, and his little speech came a little too close for him. It did have the effect of stopping the others' protestations, though Ron did still look a little uncomfortable.

"Good, now that that's settled, I believe we should have enough time to get enough clothes for the time being and be back before sunset. I have a list of clothes stores that should have what we need." When the others looked at her, she admitted "Some of the places were mentioned by Diane Maza, and the rest were recommended by the concierge when I 'explained' that there was a mixup with our luggage at the airport."

The group wasn't really surprised by Hermione's preparedness, and quickly made plans of where they would stop first.

-----------------------------------------------------

Back in England, Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts

Albus Dumbledore suppressed the urge to sigh and rub his head. He idly wondered who and how far back in Molly Weasley's family had been a banshee; with that woman's ability to scream and yell there had to be some banshee blood present. It had taken far to long to soothe her volatile temper, and he had wasted precious time, time that could have been better used tracking down those blasted brats.

Once he had finally appeased the woman for the time being he had called an order meeting. That had been a waste of time as well. It had been full of chaos and accusations being thrown around. With all the bickering and shouting, little had been done. No one seemed to have any idea where Potter and his friends could have disappeared to, and some were even beginning to question his authority by questioning his decision to leave Potter at the Durselys. 'The nerve of them. How dare they question my decisions, I am the only one who knows what's best' he thought furiously. He had sent them out to look for any clues, with a few such as Minerva and Filius going to question various students who might know where they would go.

And to top it all off his access to the Potter accounts was currently frozen. He had received notice from the goblins that all access was suspended while irregularities in the handling of the Potters' wills and the handling of the accounts themselves were investigated. 'I need to get Potter back here and under my control again. Without him I'll lose control of my financing for this war as well as my 'weapon'. Where could they be?!'

"Hmm. Perhaps Lupin will know. I shall have to inquire with him tomorrow. It's time that werewolf started contributing instead of moping around. He'll help, I just have to play my 'I gave you a chance that no one else ever has' card to get his help. And maybe it will put an end to his moping over Black's death."

He didn't even notice as Fawkes looked up from his perch and trilled a note of disapproval before facing away.

--------------------------------------------

Manhattan

They had taken the limo to a shopping area and Hermione had quickly ushered them into one of the stores. She had a quick discussion with one of the employees and then everything was a blur. Several employees came over and began bustling about, bringing over piles of different clothes. All of them, except Hermione, were shoved into fitting rooms with armloads of clothing, having to come out and model each outfit before being sent back in for a new one. Harry noticed that he seemed to have more clothes than the others but when he pointed it out Hermione simply pointed out "The others are only getting enough clothes to last out the summer or this trip (whichever ends first) but you need a whole wardrobe. Not to mention you are more likely to go through them with your _condition_", to which he had no reply.

During the hustle and bustle of trying on all of the clothes (and he had never worn so many different clothes in his life) he could have sworn Hermione disappeared for a while but it was hard to tell. Finally the salespeople seemed satisfied, and he went to pay for their purchases with his debit card. He was glad that that was over with and went with the others to put the bags in the limo. After depositing the bags in the car he was surprised when Hermione dragged them off to another store.

This time it was Ron who said "But Hermione don't we have enough clothes?"

Hermione responded that they didn't know what type of situations they would be faced with during this trip and it was better to be prepared for any occasion. The group was stunned by their friend's attitude about clothes. They had never seen her act this way about shopping (unless it was for books). Though Ron did stick his foot in his mouth when he made a comment about her "acting like a girl" which earned him quite a glare from the bushy haired genius.

Finally it began to get late and they returned to the hotel. Harry had never been so glad for night to approach as he was then. For once he was thankful for his condition, it ended the shopping trip from hell. They went to their suite and deposited their bags in a corner to be sorted later. Glancing at a clock, Harry saw that it was 15 minutes to sunset.

He went into his room and changed into his torn clothes, figuring it was better than ruining another set, then returned to the main room to wait for his transformation. The others had all collapsed on the couches, though he did notice that someone (most likely Hermione) had warded the room for silence. A few minutes later the pain hit and his transformation began.

After a few agonizing minutes, the pain subsided and Harry collapsed on a couch as well. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that" he stated. The others all looked at him sympathetically, sad that there was nothing they could do but watch their friend as he went through that much pain.

Hermione broke the silence a few moments later. "I suggest that we all get to bed early tonight. Not only is there the time difference that will affect how tired we are but sunrise is at 5:45 tomorrow morning and we'll want to get a head start. That includes you Harry" she added noticing that the transformation and lack of real sleep over the last few days had worn him out.

"But Hermione," he began to protest "how am I supposed to sleep. If I try to sleep in a bed, I'm afraid I'll ruin the bedding at the very least, and possibly break the bed. I don't think the bed is designed to handle wings, talons and a tail." He demonstrated his point by showing his sharp talons and demonstrating how easily they rip through cloth on a piece of his shirt.

Hermione sighed. "I know Harry but even in this form you still need sleep. Remember normal gargoyles would sleep and recover in stone during the day but that doesn't apply to you. Maybe if we make a nest of blankets and pillows and charm them not to rip." She went into the room Harry would be using (the suite included six bedrooms) and suited action to words. "There, try that Harry."

He reluctantly began to lay down on the nest of pillows and blankets. It was surprisingly comfortable and only took a few moments to get into a comfortable position for his tail and wings. "Thanks Hermione, I think it will work great" he yawned suddenly, surprised at how tired he felt all of a sudden. "G'night everyone" he muttered sleepily as he began to quickly succumb to sleep. The others quickly left his room and retreated to their own rooms, beginning to feel the effects of the long journey for themselves.


	8. Author Note: Apology

Sorry to everyone who gets an alert and thinks this story has been updated. I have done some thinking lately and while I hate to admit it, I have no idea where to go with this story. It has been years since I updated it and I can't even find my original notes. I don't remember where I wanted to take it. I have also long since lost interest in both fandoms, aside from reading the occasional fic. So I am putting this story on permanent hiatus. I hope to one day come back and finish it but that day is not anywhere in the near future.

I have had several recent reviews and private messages asking me to either complete it or give it up for adoption. As I said I do hope to one day complete it, just not now. As for adoption, I'm not ready to give it up completely. However, if anyone wants to take my idea and run with it, they are more than welcome to. But if you decide to do it as a continuation or a branching off of the material that I have already written, then I ask that you give me credit for what I wrote before you continue on. Please don't copy my writing and claim that you wrote it. Feel free to branch off from where I left off or even earlier but don't take chapters that I have written and claim them as your own. Instead, I ask that you tell readers where to find my work and continue from there.

Once again, I apologize for disappointing anyone who was hoping to see this continued. Hopefully someday I will. Thank you all for following this story for so many years, and for all of your wonderful reviews.


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